A few great options are available if you're looking for the best gaming TV for PS5. When evaluating how good a TV is for PS5 gaming, there are four main criteria to consider:
Gaming Features
The PS5 supports HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, which means higher resolutions and faster refresh rates than the PS4, all the way up to 4k @ 120Hz. A fast refresh rate, like 120Hz, doesn't only improve the fluidity of gameplay in games that do support it, but it also almost always improves the TV's input lag and perceived response time, so it's a big deal for competitive PS5 gamers or those who prioritize frame rate and fluidity over graphical fidelity. A high refresh rate also goes hand in hand with variable refresh rate (VRR) support, as it lets the TV dynamically adjust its refresh rate to match the game's frame rate, minimizing, if not eliminating, any screen tearing that can result from the game's frame rate not matching the TV's refresh rate. Luckily, Sony released firmware updates that added VRR and 1440p support to the console, making it fully compatible with TVs that support these features.
For more information on gaming features, look up our articles onVRRandsupported resolutions of TVs.
Input Lag and Response Time
Another essential component of a good gaming TV for the PS5 console is its input lag and response time. Input lag is the time it takes for a frame sent by a source (like a gaming console) to be displayed on screen. A low input lag makes the entire experience more responsive, as your inputs on a controller or mouse are reflected quickly on the screen. The best TVs can have an input lag as low as five milliseconds. Response time is the time it takes for a pixel to change from one color to the next, typically measured from a fully black pixel to a fully white one or from one shade of gray (either dark or bright gray) to the opposite shade of gray. OLEDs are the uncontested best TVs regarding response time, as their pixel transitions are nearly instantaneous. However, the best LED TVs for gaming also have very fast transitions. A slow response time is noticeable, as fast-moving objects on screen leave blurry trails behind them.
You can also check out our articles oninput lagandresponse timeif you want to know more.
Contrast and Dark Details in Game Mode
An important factor in how games look on a TV is its ability to preserve its contrast in Game Mode when playing on the PS5. To cut down on processing and thus improve input lag, TVs disable many of their processing features in Game Mode. We look at whether the TV's local dimming feature is still fast and accurate in that mode, which includes seeing if the TV's dimming zone transitions are more noticeable than in other picture modes and if the TV's blooming performance differs from these other modes. The best gaming TVs don't show any apparent reduction in contrast in Game Mode.
You can also read our in-depth article oncontrast.
Peak Brightness and Reflection Handling
Finally, we pay attention to how bright the TV gets. For dark room gaming, contrast is more important overall, but HDR peak brightness is also important as the PS5 supports HDR, and you want bright highlights to pop next to a TV's deep blacks. Of course, if you're gaming in a bright room, you want your TV's brightness to be high enough to compensate for any glare from direct or ambient lights. Reflection handling is also important here, as TVs with lower peak brightness, like many OLEDs, can compensate for it by having stellar reflection handling, allowing for bright room gaming. If you're planning on playing older PS4 and PS3 titles on your console, then a good SDR peak brightness is also crucial, although if you don't care about accuracy, you can force your console to output SDR games in HDR, which is useful for TVs who don't have a high SDR peak brightness, like OLEDs.
If you'd like to know more, we have in-depth articles about SDR peak brightness, HDR peak brightness, and reflection handling.
We've bought andtested more than 430 TVs, and below are our recommendations for the best gaming TVfor PS5 that you can buy.Also, see our picks for thebest gaming TVs, thebest 4k TVs, and thebest movie TVs.You can alsovoteon which ones you want us to buy and test. To learn more about the 2024models, check out our2024TV lineup page.
